Most people have heard of Lord John Bradbury of Winsford and how he was the Joint Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury during the First World War.

How his signature was on the banknotes, and they were known as Bradburies. And that he was born in Crook Lane; a plaque is on the wall of his birthplace.

But how many people know that he was also the Principal British Delegate to the Reparation Commission at the end of the First World War? The draconian demands made of Germany by this commission helped Hitler gain support and power, subsequently leading to the Second World War.

But let us look at some of the more notable buildings in the town.

The George and Dragon pub in Delamere Street was built in the early 1800s and became the administrative centre of Over. It was built with a large room upstairs to house civic ceremonies, such as the court for the Lord of the Manor. Lord Delamere held this title for much of the time and owned the pub until 1882.

Before 1894 the Mayor of Over was also a justice of the peace, and minor felons were locked in the cellar until the Over Cross lock up in the form of the stone cross opposite was erected.

Despite local folklore beliefs, this cross is not where the devil carried off St Chad’s Church; neither does it have secret passageways or any other strange historical inaccuracies.

Although nearby Saxon Crossway was named after it, but only after some poor research by council officials! It was built in 1840 with a door in the back and contained a chamber used to hold felons for court.

St Chad’s Church dates from 1307 and was the principal Winsford church until later joined by St John’s at Over and Christ Church at Wharton. It was rebuilt in 1543 by Hugh Starkey of Oulton, a gentleman usher to King Henry VIII.

Once belonging to the monks of Vale Royal Abbey, Knights Grange farm is an ancient building dating from the 16th century and has been a pub since 1971. Before that, its lands were purchased to build the Grange Estate.

Another ancient pub is The Old Star in Swanlow Lane, once having the tenant, Amanda Charlesworth, who took over the pub in 1923 and remained as licensee until 1969! After that, managers came and went until 2011, when Ernie Welch accepted the challenge to bring the old pub back to life.

One of his successes was to win a national competition to have a replica of the pub erected on Copacabana Beach for the World Cup. Ernie has now dipped his toes into local government becoming a councillor and helping the Winsford Salt of the Earth group almost sweep the board in the recent town council elections.

The Verdin Trust was set up in 1889 by Sir Joseph Verdin (A distant relative of my wife) to compensate people for subsidence caused by brine pumping.

In 1891, the Brine Pumping Compensation Act was passed, rendering the trust redundant.

The money was used to build the Verdin Technical Schools, which opened in 1895. They were later extended, became Winsford Verdin Grammar School, and are now part of the Verdin Exchange. Adult Education and small businesses occupy the premises.

Finally, let’s remember that there are two Winsfords in England, and on occasions, people living in Winsford, Cheshire, have received mail meant for Winsford in Somerset.

But where is this other Winsford? Few have heard of it, and fewer have been there. There are many towns with the same name in Britain, but only two Winsfords. These two, however, are similar in name only.

Winsford in Somerset is situated on the edge of the Exmoor National Park, and it is arguably one of the prettiest villages in the country. It obtained its name from its location as it sits astride the river Winn, and a ford over the river is located there.

However, despite being a tiny village, like Winsford in Cheshire, Winsford in Somerset does boast one famous son. Ernest Bevin was born into poverty there in 1881, the son of a farm labourer.

In 1940 he was elected to Parliament as the Labour MP for Central Wandsworth. After a short time in office as a backbench MP, he was unexpectedly promoted to the senior post of Minister of Labour. This position was made even more critical by the needs of the Second World War, which was in its early stages. His young miners became known as the ‘Bevin Boys’.

Winsford in Cheshire, on the other hand, is a sprawling overspill town with more than one industrial estate sitting astride the green, flat and pleasant Cheshire countryside.

It, too, derives its name from a ford, this time crossing the river Weaver. The details of this are lost in antiquity, and there are no definite records of how the name came about.

It is believed that there was a man called Wynne who had a ford named after him. Alternatively, another suggestion is that the original name for the town was Wainsford, as there was a ford there that farmers crossed with their hay wains.

A village and a town with the same name but quite different, both have their famous sons, beautiful countryside, and unique styles.